I love the animation. This game looks very nice and I like the premodern superhero vibe I get from the character. Random lycanthropy? Why not?
Unfortunately, the game got very dull very quickly for me because I felt like I was making no progress. Others may have had more success than I did, but I felt like the running speed did not line up well with the field of vision. It was impossible to see obstacles ahead of time, so if I did not know they existed from memory I ran straight into them. I would have to die repeatedly in order to come up with a plan for getting through an area. Being challenging isn't a bad thing, but I always had to start over from the beginning which meant that I slooooowlly learned how to chart my way through the level. <Get to new area. Die. Start over from beginning.> The first time I encountered every obstacle type, I usually died: I tried to walk under a sign (why are they so low? or am I really tall?), jump over the ladder (oops), and to shoot pitchfork man (three times). Every time I wound up back at square one and had to run the same damn basic path again. Now, just because I suck at a game does not make it bad. I do suggest, however, that you give the player a little more perspective (as in viewing angle) and explain how to overcome each obstacle type when it is introduced. I also do not feel that this game integrated shooting with movement well. The shooting bits seemed tacked on and did not seem to mesh with the other aspects of the game. This is probably because (at least when it comes to wanted posters) you are generally shooting behind you since you are moving so fast. Finally, as noted below - what is the story here? It may be introduced after the point I gave up, but I would probably like the game better if you told me why I am sprinting through a town during a ladder convention.
The easiest suggestion I could make would be to lengthen viewing area (as others have said), and make it possible to speed up and slow down your character. Part of the frustration of this game is not being able to dissuade your suicidal protagonist from face planting a wall at full speed. I would suggest either incorporating the shooting element all of the time (make it possible to shoot boxes etc.) or to drop it completely. Not shooting anything for prolonged periods of time and then entering a shooting level without warning is frustrating. If you do want to have different kinds of level, provide a warning so that the player knows what to expect the first time through, - you shouldn't have to die the first time in order to know the next time. I would also suggest making it so that the player can progress much faster than you originally set it. The pricey 2k gold 500 ft headstarts take a looong time to scrounge (too long for me). Also, I would suggest developing a storyline (it may be in the game past where I made it).
Anyway, thanks!
